Efforts were made to draw strict class lines. The feudal lords and
their military retainers, or _samurai_, held the highest rank. The
farmers came next, but they were severely taxed and harshly treated.
The townspeople were looked upon as the lowest class of all. A
_samurai_ had the right to cut down a merchant with his sword, but very
early in the Tokugawa period he learned to respect the power of the
merchant’s purse.
[Illustration: JAPAN’S PRE-RESTORATION SOCIETY